Feed mechanism for labeling machines



Aug. 16, 1932.

E ERMOLD MECHANISM FOR LABELING MACHINES Filed July 7, 1930 4Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 16, 1932. E. ERMOLD FEED MECHANISM FOR LABELINGMACHINES Filed July '7, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 u R a Y E o T W. M M m w w4v. W is %N w wNW m. g 5; A

Aug. 16, 1932.

E. ERMOLD 1,871,675

FEED MECHANISM FOR LABELING MACHINES Filed July '7, 1950 Y 4Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR [in/ar 77,102;

I BY

ATTORN EY E. ERMOLD Aug. 16, 1932.

FEED MECHANISM FOR LABELING MACHINES Filed July 7, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 4INVENTOR fax ward firm 0205:

BY 5. WM

ATTORNE Patented Aug. 16, 1932 warren S ATES EDWARD unicorn, or NEWYoRK, 1v.Y.*

,rnnn MECHANISM Foa -LABELING MACHINES Application filed Ju1yl 7, 1930.:Serial No. l66,144.

This invention relates to feed mechanism for labeling machines, and hasforitsgeneral objecct and purpose to provide automatically operatingmechanism for rapidly and accua rately feeding a plurality of containersfrom a feed conveyer to positions for engagement by the flights of atransporting ,conveyer of the labeling machine whereby thecontainers aretransported to their'label receiving positions.

It is a more particular object of my invention to provide a feedconveyer extending across the front of the machine in spaced re'-.

lation to the transporting conveyer and means arranged between the'twoconveyers to receive and support the glass bottles or other containersin obliquely inclined positions'and Continuously operating means toenga'geja plurality of containers on the feed conveyerl at spacedintervals in the movement of the latter and transfer the same to saidsupporting means. I e I It is another object otthe invention to pro:

I vide relatively stationary means adapted to engage the upper ends ofthe bottlesor con tainers as they are transversely moved ofii of thefeed conveyor to cause the same to assume an obliquely inclined positionupon said sup-, porting means for engagement by thefiights of thetransporting conveyer. j j It is also a further general object of the:

invention to provide feed mechanism for 121- beling machines as abovecharacterized which is of comparatively simple mechanical constructionand may be readily applied for use in conjunction with the multiple'typelabel ing machines without greatly increasing the production costs ofsuch machines or materially adding to the necessary floor space occupiedby the machine. a V

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists intheimproved feed mechanism for labeling machines, and in the form,construction and-relative arrangement of the several parts as will behereinafter more fully described, illustrated in them:- companyingdrawings, and subsequently incorporated in the subjoined claims. J i

In the drawings, wherein I have disclosed one simpleandpracticalembodiment of the present invention, and in: which similar referencecharacters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views,-'1 F'gure 1 s a top plan view, illustrating one practical embodiment ofmy present improvements; 1 V

Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof, certain of the parts being brokenaway; y

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken substantialrt ly on the line 3-3 ofFig. 1; M i Fig. l is a sectional viewtakenron the line 4. 4 ofIFig'. 1,and V y i Figs. '5, 6 and? are detail sectional views illustratingdiiierent positions of the bottle or container in transference ofthesame from the feed conveyer to the transporting conveyer oft-he labelingmachine. For purposes of illustration, in: the .ac coinpan'yingdrawings, l have shown onlyso much of the labeling machine, as isnecessary for a clear understanding of my'pres ent improvements. Thismachine'mayfbe of the type shown and described in PatentNo.

1,308,280, issued to Edward Ermold, on July 1, 1919. It will therefore,suffice to state that the operating parts of the machine are suitablymounted and supported in. a frame structure, a portion of which isindicated at" 5, said machine including an endless'transporting conveyer6 having spacedside chains .80 connected at intervalsby horizontal bars.7, each of which carries a conveyer flights 8.

plurality be spaced In spaced relation to the forward end of thetransporting conveyer 6, the horizontal ly disposed slotted bedlplate 9extends across the front of the machine andv is supported at-itsopposite ends upon suitable standards indicated at 310. At spacedpoints, said bed plate is also rigidly connected with the bracketmembers llprojecting forwardly from the opposite side members of themachine frame The upperstretch of a link conveyer belt 12 moves in thelongitudinal slot of the bed plate 9 as clearly seen'in Figs.,1 and?) ofthe drawings,said belt at its oppositeends ex tending around suitablesupporting sprockets-f13'fiXed to the shafts 14 suitably "journalled onthef'under side of the bed plate 9 porting conveyer 6.

the lower end of a vertically disposed shaft 21 to which verticallyspaced discs 22 are fixed. These discs have peripheral sections eachcomposed of mergingconvexand concave surface portions for properengagement with the bottles or other containers which are brought intocontact therewith by the primary feed conveyer 23 "which extends atright angles tothe conveyer 12; A metal guide band 2a urpr es the outerside portionsofthe discs 22 spaced relation'therc to anclfextends overthe end of the horimoving primary conveyer 23 and carriedin aontal feedbelt Thus, it will beunderstood that in the rotation ofthe discs 22 inan anti-clockwise direction, the bottles are successively removed fromthecontinuou'sly contact with the guide b and 24 by said discsanddelivered in. an upright position upon the upper stretch of theconveyer 12 moving;

across the front of'the machine.

' The Iabeling machineis provided with longitudinally extendingtransversely spaced supporting bars 25 forthe' COIitainers'arrangedinline with the spaced flights 8 of the transporting conveyer. 6"andfpositione d 7 above andginparallel relation to the upper stretch ofsaid conveyer. The forward ends of these supporting bars fare downwardlycurved and fixed to the vertical armsof the bracket members 26. Each ofthese' bracket members is alsoprovided at its upper end witha forwardlyextending upwardly in-.

din d rm ;Whichis O t d herwise. rigidly fixed to the bar28; theopposite ends of s'aid" bar; being suitably ccured to the bracketmembers 11. Tothe'rear edge of;-

the bed plate: 9, the plates 29 are fixed, said plates being obliquelyinclineddownwardly and rearwardly in substantially paralleIre lationwith the bracket arms 27 and extend.

Y ingupon'thebar 28'; These plates ,have the r;

bar-25.

upper? surfaces preferably dished or chan-,

nelledto receive the base of the bottle or container. Rearwardly of saidplates,the

cushioning blocksj30 are arranged, each of. said blocks haying a partsecured. upon the upper. id f he bracket. arm. 27 nd n,

upwardly and rearwardly curved part se';v curedupon the curved forwardend of the the. opposite sides of eachof-the bars 25 and extendingforwardly over the. rear;

edge the bed plate 9, the adj ustableg uide plates 31 are mounted:v uponthe supp1ort:-. ing frames32, -said plates being laterally;

adjustable with respect to the fixed bars 25 and secured in theiradjusted positions by suitable clamping bolts threaded in the framemembers 32, as indicated at 33. One of the guide plates 31 associatedwith each of the bars 25 has its forward end provided with laterallycurved fingers 34 which direct the bottles or containers into the guideways be- 7 tween the spaced plates 31 as they are moved rearwardly offof the conveyer 12, ina manner; to, be presently described.

Above the forward ends of the guide plates 31, a horizontal'bar'35 isarranged and suitably secured at its opposite ends upon the supportingposts or standards 36, which are .liquely inclined positions upon thesupporting blocks 30,1] provide a bar 38 extending longitudinally of theconveyer above and inparallel relation thereto. This bar is movable bothlongitudinally and transversely of the conveyer in properly timedrelation. to the, ,conyeyer movement, While various actuating means forthe bar 33 might be devised, I have shown said bar pivotally connectedat; longitudinally spaced points as shown at 40 to the ends of theparallel, arms 39, extending. radiallyfrom the upper endsJof' thevertical shaftsl. These shafts arejournailed; in, suitable bearings.provided on the spaced. franies tilwhichafe fi'xedat their upper ends.to the frontledge ofthe table 9. The: frames 4 2, are. also providedwith additional bearings for a. horizontal shaft 43connected with thevertical. shafts 41 by the gearing 44 said horizontal shaft4i3 at one ofits endsbeing geared'to.the ...shaft 15,;asat 15. I

w'llothe rear edge; of the bar 40 a. longitudir. nally extendingcushioningstrip 46 of'rnbe. ber. or other-suitable. material is.attached to,

prevent scratching or marring of. the glass surfaces 7 of the; bottlesorother containers. 'Dhe.ar ms 39 and% the; bar 40 are movable.transversely beneath; longitudinally (5X:- tending guide bar 47whiehjex-tends alongthe outer side of thetable 9 and; is;., verticallyspaced 7 abovethe.- plan thereof.

iI-n; the operation of the mechanism as above described the bottlesarefirst placed in suitably spaced relation toeach other and in uprightpositions upon the primary conveyer 23,; from :Whiclrthey. are removedby the 110- tating discs. 22. andtransferre'd;tothe con-. veyerbejlt 12.Astheupperstretchof this conveyer belt; moves. fromright: to left, the;

bar is moved inwardly and transversely over the conveyer by the rotatingarms 39, the cushioning strip 16 being engaged with a plurality of thebottles on the moving conveyer (in this case, four). As the movement ofthe conveyer continues, the bar 40 is also moved rearwardly andlongitudinally of the conveyer, thus pushing the bottles transverse lyin a rearward direction off ofthe conveyer. As will be noted byreference to Fig. 5 of the drawings, as th bottles are thus movedrearwardly over the bed plate 9, the upper ends or necks of thesebottles come into contact with the front edge of the bar 35, saidbottles also being engaged and laterally directed. by the curved forwardends 84 of the guide plates 31 so that they are positioned in alignmentwith the plates 29. The continuing pressure of the cushioning strip 47of the bar 40 against the body portion of the bottle, thus causes thesame to be tilted to an inclined position as it moves upon the plate 29,and to slide down the concave upper surface of said plate and upon thecushioning block 30, the base of the bottle engaging the rear upwardlycurved part of said cushioning block while the body portion thereofrests upon the forwardly and upwardly inclined part of the block securedto the bracket arm 27. The bottles are thus supported in proper positionso that they will be picked up by the upward- I ly moving flights 8 atthe forward end of the transporting conveyer 6, as clearly seen in Figs.6 and 7 of the drawings and carried upwardly and disposed in verticalupright positions upon the 'supportmg bars 25. The

. movement of the transporting conveyer 6 is of course, properly timedwith respect to the movements of the conveyer 12 and the bar 40 so thatthe bottles will be thus automatically removed from the conveyer 12 andpositioned upon the supporting blocks 30 for engagement by thesuccessive flights 8 of the trans porting conveyer.

From th foregoing description considered in connection with theaccompanying drawings, it will be seen that I have devised a feedmechanism for such label applying machines which is capable of rapidoperation to properly and accurately position the bottles for movementby the transporting conveyer to their label receiving positions, andwithout liability of breakage or other injury to the bottles. While inthe present instance, I

have shown a feed mechanism which transfers four bottles at a time fromthe feed conveyer to the transporting conveyer, it will be evident ofcourse, that by merely lengthening the bar 40, the device is applicableto multiple type labeling machines of greater capacity. Also, while Ihave herein shown and described an embodiment of my presentimprovements, which has been found very efficient in practical use, itis nevertheless to be understood that the essential, features thereofmight also be embodied in various other alternative structuralforms,-andI accordingly reserve the privilege of resorting to all suchlegitimate changes therein as may be fairly incorporated within thespirit and I scope of the invention as claimed. I claim:

- "1. In combinationwith a labeling nachine having conveyer-means fortransportmg containers tolabel receiving position, a feed conveyer forthe, containers disposed at right angles to the transportingconveyer'means and 111 spaced relation to one end thereof, a

relatively fixed obliquely inclined support beconveyer, means foractuating said member,

and stationary means adapted to engage the upper end of the containerduring its trans verse movement and tilt the same to dispose.

the container on said support in obliquely in- V clined parallelrelation therewith for engage ment by apart of the transporting conveyermeans.

2. In combination with a labeling ma ch 11 1c having transportingconveyer means provided with a plurality of series of spaced flights, acontainer feed conveyer disposed at right angles to said transportingconveyer means and in spaced relation to one end thereoffa plurality ofobliquely inclined container receiving supports between the feedconveyor and the transporting conveyer means, means icefor-simultaneously transversely removing a plurality of containers fromthe feed conveyer and positioning the same upon "said inclined? supportsfor engagement by the flights of the transporting conveyer meansincluding a member transversely movable over the feed conveyer, and arelatively stationary part mounted above said movable member to engagethe upper ends of the containers during their transverse movement andtilt the same to positions in parallel relation with the respectivesupports.

3-. In combination with a bottle labeling machine having conveyer meansprovided with spaced series of flights for supporting the bottles tolabel receiving positions, a bottle feed conveyer disposed at rightangles to said transporting conveyer andin spaced relation to one endthereof, relatively stationary means between said conveyers forsupporting the bottles in an obliquely inclined position to be engagedby the flights of the transporting conveyer, a member movable in aclosed circular path transversely and longitudinally above the feedconveyer, and means for operating said member in timed relation with themovements of the transporting conveyer and the feed conveyer to' sitionthe same upon said supporting means.

a, In combination with a; bottle labeling machine having conveyer meansprovided with spaced series of flights for conveying the bottles tolabel receiving psitions,-a bottle feed conveyer disposed at rightangles to said transporting conveyer and in spaced relation to one vendthereof relatively stationary means between said conveyers forsupporting the bottles in an obliquely-inclinedposition to be engaged bythe flights ofthe transporting conveyer, a' member movable in a circularpath transversely and longitudinally above the feed eonvey'er, means forop erating said member in timed relation with the movements of thetransporting conveyer' and the feed conveyor to simuletaneously remove aplurality of bottles transversely from the feed conveyerand'position thesame upon said supporting means, and a relatively fixed part mountedabove the path of movement of said member and engaged. by thebottlesduring their transverse movement to tilt the bottles and dispose thesame in an obliquely inclined position upon said supporting means. I

5. In combination with a conveyer having longitudinally spaced flights,means for positioning containers for engagement by the flights at oneend of said conveyer, said means ,comprising a stationary memberarranged above and in longitudinally spaced relation to one end of theconveyer, a container support between said member and the conveyer,meansto engage and move the containers from an upright position towardthe conveyer and into contact with said stationary member whereby thecontainer is tilted to an obliquely inclined position on said support inthe path of movement of the conveyer flights.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I havesigned myname hereto. 1

' EDWARD ERMOLD. I

